Cable and wiring systems (called cabling systems herein) can require a lot of time and material to assemble. For example, rigid conduit can be run over significant distances. Some cabling systems require, at least to some extent, that one or more cables be enclosed (sometimes called an enclosed raceway). In such a case, rigid conduit can be used. Rigid conduit is made in fixed lengths, and so a person (usually an electrician) installing rigid conduit as part of a cabling system may have to perform a number of tasks with respect to the rigid conduit. For example, the installer may have to cut a length of conduit to size, as well as shape a conduit pipe according to a particular curvature required based on the path to be followed.
In addition, the conduit pipe may need to be threaded at one or both ends. This process can be time-consuming and messy. Further, if the conduit pipe is part of an explosion-proof (or equivalent) system, the threads etched onto the conduit pipe need to be precise, which takes more time. In a cabling system, a conduit pipe can be joined to another conduit pipe and/or an enclosure (e.g., a fitting, a connector, a junction box, a motor control center, a switchgear cabinet, a control cabinet). Conduit pipe in such cases is joined using mating threads. Even if a conduit pipe has mating threads disposed on each end, when a conduit pipe is cut to size, mating threads must be etched into the end of the conduit pipe. This process can be messy (leaving, for example, metal shavings and oil stains) and time consuming. Also, a conduit system, when assembled, is rigid, allowing for little if any independent movement of its components.